Curator Efrem Zelony-Mindell Brings Together 57 Artists At Phizer Building For Re: Art Show 21

As a general rule, I am opposed to applying clichéd terms like "polymath" to the creative people that I write about. But when it comes to Efrem Zelony-Mindell, I find myself fighting the use of that particular term more than I normally would. A curator, writer, and artist, Zelony-Mindell has one of the sharpest and most unique eyes in the contemporary New York art underground, not to mention a literary and poetic point of view on aesthetics that he imbues into all of his work. Whether he's creating abstract and geometrical paintings, musing on the technological optimism of artist Sara Cwynar, or identifying images that broaden queer representation without actually depicting sexualized queer bodies (as in the exhibition he curated at the Rubber Factory newflesh: representing queerness beyond the body), Zelony-Mindell has cultivated an eye for the opaque and the bewildering art and images that nonetheless bristle with meaning and contemporary dialog. Allergic to all things obvious and over-explained, Zelony-Mindell reinforces contemporary art as a space where the imagination is allowed to expand and drift. "The imagination has the ability to unlock the potential and reality of the plausible world," says Zelony-Mindell. "I think people need a supportive opportunity to make up their own decisions and to be affirmed in knowing that their own feelings and interpretations of things, art specifically, aren't wrong".

By Patricia Voulgariscourtesy of the artist

Zelony-Mindell has now curated the latest iteration of the Re: Art Show, curatorial project headed by Erin Davis and Max C Lee that sees portions of the iconic Pfizer Pharmaceutical building in Brooklyn converted into curatorial spaces in which large numbers of impressively diverse artists can see their works interact with the unique nature of the building. For this year's exhibition, entitled, Re: Art Show 21, This is Not Here, Zelony-Mindell posted an open call for submissions that eventually resulted in a sprawling roster of 57 artists working in various mediums. Amongst the more well-known artists with works in the exhibition are photographer Patricia Voulgaris, photographer Ilona Szwarc, and the late Abstract Expressionist photographer Aaron Siskind. But, true to Zelony-Mindell's nature, I have already discovered several fascinating emerging artists who I might have not have ever learned about had Zelony-Mindell not discovered them for me: the evocative geometric images of artist Jaclyn Wright, the queer-leaning portraits of artist Daniel Rampulla, and the metallic sculptures of artist Jessie English have all warped my brain in the best possible ways. Zelony-Mindell and I communicated over email to discuss his curatorial philosophies and how they impacted the behemoth of an exhibition that is Re: Art Show 21.

By KC Crow Madduxcourtesy of the artist

Adam Lehrer: One thing I've admired about you is your ability to hone in on images. You seem to have the ability to immerse yourself in an image without overt regard to its maker, eschewing any kind of celebrity/artist worship. Is this accurate? If so, is that how you go about curating a large exhibition? Because largely, I must admit, I don't know a lot of these artists.

Efrem Zelony-Mindell: I guess the first thing I have to say is thank you! I'm incredibly lucky to do a job where I get to meet with, talk to, and get to know—on many different levels—people who make things. To me that's just a strange coincidence and a natural part of what it is that I do. It's my job, and having the opportunity to share with artists intimately is a totally fulfilling pleasure. You are correct though, coincidence aside, knowing the artists at whatever level they are at in their careers has no baring on my interest in the work. My commitment is to the work first and foremost. In curating This Is Not Here: RE 21, as with any show, work comes first. I was very lucky to have an incredibly strong response to the open call that was put out for this show. I received 132 submissions (as well as reached out to 40 artists individually) and really enjoyed looking through them all. I do research the people who I work with because it's also my responsibility as a curator to be making room for every kind of person. I'm incredibly excited for everyone to get to know all 57 of these artists, they are all incredibly important, passionate, and hard working folks.

By Daniel Rampullacourtesy of the artist

AL: Let's just talk background, how did this show come together? And what was the central idea you were working with?

EZM: RE: Art Show and the Pfizer building are these incredibly democratic spaces: RE: Art Show in its mission and the building in its feeling and network of vast companies and participants that work and produce within it. I felt that an open call would reflect and uphold some of these autonomous ideals. When the open call was announced the guidelines attached called for works that would interact with the architecture of the building and promote a kind of disillusionment between the space and the art. The idea being that the show is looking to transform the space so viewers will begin to feel immersed and lose sight of where the building ends and the art begins, and not feel so locked into a typical art viewing experience.

By Justin O'Briencourtesy of the artist

AL: Your press release is, let's say, abstract. Are you deliberately hoping to make viewers use their imaginations a bit? As opposed to having a pre-written narrative for them ready to go, free thought be damned?

EZM: You know what I really like about the imagination? It makes the impossible possible. The imagination allows for the forming of new ideas and external concepts that weren't previously present to the senses. It is not my intention as a curator or a writer to lead people to answers with specificity or what has come to be expected from a press release.

By Jessie Englishcourtesy of the artist

AL: The way you go about curation seems less a process of strategizing than it does a creative process. In fact, the way you blend image, object and text seems most connected to poetry. Can curation be poetry? Can it be art? Do these questions interest you at all?

EZM: I curated a show a few years ago and asked one of the artists I was working with to define my role as a curator. The response I received was, "Honestly curators are secretaries." I think about about these questions, about the potential of curation, a lot. I think there are a lot of different functions curating can take on and really it comes down to the individual who is doing the curating. When I think about the shows I'm curating I recognize that it's my job to think up insane things. Wonderful things. Rebellious things. Things that people may not like or may challenge their values. John Waters succinctly puts it, "It's contemporary art’s job to wreck everything that came before it. Is there a better job description than that?" I see curating as a creative act. I have an idea and I get to correspond those ideas and narratives with imagery and work that other people make. Together in a space the way things are placed and presented help stimulate a visual interpretation and larger conversations and ways of communicating concepts. Call it what you will; the dedication, focus, and artistry of realizing the potential of art and its presentation is not lost on me as a creative act. All that to say, yes. Yes curating, and poetry, and creativity, and making art are absolutely together. To form full ideas and establish elaborate communities they have to be.

AL: What are the things you're constantly drawn and attracted to in art and photography? How do those things manifest in this show?

EZM: Art attracts me! I like things that scare me, make me uncomfortable, aren't easy, are unusual, offensive, amusing, dangerous. The more uncertainty the more room there is for figuring out, and interpretation. This Is Not Here: RE 21 manifests these intentions in many ways. Some are conceptual, some are visual, others are verbal, auditory, and linguistic. There are all kinds of work in this show, seeing performance coupled with photography—or painting next to sound art—are ways that I hope to push limits, but also help things meld by letting them coexist and speak to one another. I don't expect things to be easy, that's not my intention. Things take time, and being in touch with how we as individuals are taking that time to connect to what we see and the things we think is worthy of being sought out.

AL: Has curating a show in such a strange space as this changed your approach to curation at all? Did it leave you with new ideas about space and its relationship to image and object?

EZM: Erin Davis and Max C Lee, the gentlemen who run RE: Art Show, made it explicitly clear to me the amount of adaptability necessary to keep in mind when working with the Pfizer building. This advice has been incredibly accurate. There's always a surprise in curating a show and I have never experienced so many different kinds of surprises. Most shows are linear, but the Pfizer building is so huge that things are equally as spacial and three-dimensional as they are sequential. One of the things that excites me most about the space is that I'm constantly aware of the fact that I am inside this space, and how much it feels like being inside a larger organism. The nature of the Pfizer building is intricate and detailed, everything was once something else. The sense of blooming or birthing into new potential is so apparent and immediate.

AL: You have a real sense of stream of consciousness freedom in your writing. I appreciate the mood your art criticism evokes. I'm always a bit more deliberate in how I approach writing, perhaps more strategic in the approach to language but with a much less defined sense of feeling. Does this stream of consciousness approach also influence how you curate?

EZM: I am no art critic. Criticism and history are things that interest me, but really I just want to write a poem to something that I find incredibly beautiful. I think being a writer and curator, for me, meet in this place of applying adoration and affection to the potential of show and interaction between works of art. I'm reacting to the things around me, art gets made in this way. Decisions get made and the execution of an action is informed by vigorous decision making, trial and error, moving, repeating, searching for, and finding that perfect place of unity and realization. The result is something unique. I'm not sure I want things to be precious, but I do want them to be thorough and informed.

AL: I thought this would be interesting to ask, how does one cultivate unique taste in today's digital landscape? I am often overwhelmed by the sheer amount of media, art, music, films, fashions, etc.. that I see or hear every day. It's getting harder and harder for me to tell what I like, but nevertheless, the good stuff always pierces my soul. What are your thoughts on taste?

EZM: Taste is for candy bars and collecting. I collect art, I buy art, I trade for art. But the things I live with and the things I want to acquire are a totally different function than curating. The heart is deceitful, but when you know you like something you just know it. It's all over you and there's absolutely no fighting it. I look—A LOT. I'm on newsletters and mailers, I'm going to websites, and I'm even on tumblr. Looking, saving things that strike me. Reviewing and looking back. Going down rabbit holes online and being an active participant. I go to shows, and fairs, and I ask a lot of questions, I'm nosy and I spy on people. Being inquisitive, passionate, and considerate are the only ways to keep in touch with what you want when you're up against the huge amount of what's available. That work never stops, the looking never stops. Taking the time and talking with others all feeds gathering a deeper understanding of what individuals want out of the art they like or want. I have a few different folders with different functions on my desktop (some of the names may be more obvious as to what's inside them than others). There's Collectable, Daily Feast (which is a folder of work I fill with images I just find beautiful), and then a folder full of more folders that are for different projects that I have done or am working on, and they are all full of images that I'm keeping and cataloging as research for those projects. There's not a right or wrong way, doing the work is most important.

AL: It is deeply important to have people still dedicating their lives to intellectualizing aesthetics. Too often it feels the gate keepers now are either too inhibited by their financial interests and to a lesser (and less toxic) extent, their political interests. But you, to me, are very much someone still illustrating the importance of aesthetics in culture. Where do you get the energy? Where do you get the drive?

EZM: I'm not particularly good at anything else. And if I didn't do this work for myself, I'd have to do it for someone else. Also, I've only really ever wanted to be one thing ever since I was a little kid. The only thing I've ever wanted to be is a super villain. Fine art seemed to be the most viable way to accomplish that.

AL: Is art making still an interest of yours? Or are you happier curating?

EZM: I curate, I write, and I paint. And only in that order currently because that's the way opportunities have been presenting themselves to me. In my studio they coalesce. I am all of these things, and they are important to pursue together because they inform each other and further me and my ability to understand them from different aspects. A person is a whole thing—complicated, and vexing, and deeply exuberant.

Re: Art Show 21 will be on view May 27 to June 16 and will hold its opening reception on May 26 ay 6 pm.

Adam Lehrer is an artist and writer based in New York and an assistant curator at the Museum of Sex. Prior to moving to New York, Lehrer thought he'd be an investigative journalist working at local newspapers in Tucson, AZ and getting a BA in journalism from the University o...